08 Culture Diary: COMEDY Ken Dodd Happiness Show/ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.Byline: PETER ELSON CLOCKING up your 50th anniversary in show business and also your 80th birthday is no mean achievement. That Ken Dodd Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (born 8 November 1927, in Knotty Ash, Liverpool), better known as Ken Dodd, is a veteran English comedian and singer, famous for selling over 100 million records, his buck teeth, frizzy hair, feather duster (or "tickling stick"), and his catchphrases, has arrived at these landmarks and can still pack the Philharmonic Hall Philharmonic Hall refers to multiple music venues:
He also managed this on two nights, although he told a very receptive audience he normally only does one-night stands. "That's all they can stand. But there was a blot on the contract, so I took advantage of it," quipped Ken, adding: "There's a word for what I'm doing here. It's called struggling." Hardly. He toyed with the audience over his infamous length of performance: "It's a feast of fun and a challenge to the kidneys." The first half was three hours and the second a mere two. This was in spite of a persistent cough: "Well, I should have paid the congestion charge congestion charge congestion n → City-Maut f congestion charge n → pedaggio da pagare per poter circolare in automobile nel centro di alcune città , introdotto per la prima volta a ." My theory is Ken wants to get steam up and the whole act simply needs time to gain the full momentum of the Doddiness of yore of old time; long ago; as, in times or days of yore. - Pope. See also: Yore . "Fifty years in show business - it's a hell of a long time waiting for a laugh," he muses, but, lest we feel we're making concessions for his longevity, he turns the tables saying, "when I first came in here, I thought I was in out-patients." Alas, the remark was prophetic as, after his two Philharmonic shows, Ken was admitted to Liverpool's Royal University Hospital for "a little procedure". Planned shows at Birkenhead's Pacific Road Arts Centre An art center or arts centre is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, and Theatre Royal, St Helens, had to be cancelled. But, at the Phil, he was constantly chatting up the front row. Of one matron, he inquires: "Are you a spy from Manchester, come to see how we do it? Well, we're not going to tell you." No, I've no idea how he does it, but it's still well worth partaking in his masterclass in mass manipulation of 1,700 chuckle muscles, even if there's no chance of ever knowing. Sign up to our newsletter and keep up to date with all the Culture year news at www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/newsletters For all the news on Capital of Culture, make sure you bookmark www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/culture CAPTION(S): Ken Dodd |
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